Last year our class had an election for class leader. Two students stood, and one won by three votes. (11) Some students said their names had not been on the paper. Our teacher did not decide the matter herself. She asked us to read the school rule aloud, and the rule said every member of the class must be able to vote. (12) we held the election again on the Friday. The same student won, this time by eleven votes, and we had a great dinner together that night. Nothing about the result changed, (13) something else did. A rule that is followed even when the result stays the same is the only kind anybody will trust, (14) that is what the second vote taught us.
A bus that runs at six in the morning with two people on it looks like a waste of money. (15) Those two people may be a nurse and a cleaner, and a large hospital runs on regular buses like this one, and without that bus the hospital does not open on time. A public service is not judged the way a shop is. A shop may close a branch that few people use, (16) a country cannot close the road to a small village and call it good business. (17), some services are built to be there rather than to be busy. We pay for them in years when we do not need them, (18) that is exactly the point.
✔ 正確答案：(B) But that way of counting misses something.
解析空格後舉出護士與清潔人員的例子來反駁「浪費錢」的看法，所以空格要先指出那種算法漏了東西。
16
Abut
Balthough
Cbecause
Dso
✔ 正確答案：(A) but
解析商店可以關分店，國家卻不能關掉小村的路，形成對比，用 but。
17
AAt first
BBy chance
CHowever
DIn other words
✔ 正確答案：(D) In other words
解析這句在把前面的道理換句話說，用 In other words。
18
Aand
Bbut
Cor
Dsince
✔ 正確答案：(A) and
解析「在用不到的年份付錢」與「這正是重點」是順向說明，用 and。
3
閱讀理解 Reading Comprehension
共 12 題／4 個題組
請閱讀下列短文，並回答相關問題。
NOTICE
Messages and a Voting Card
Ann: My sister votes for the first time this month. She got this card.
COUNTY ELECTION · Voting Card
Saturday, January 13
8:00 to 16:00 · Sun Hill School, Room 3
Bring this card and one paper with your photo
Voters over 70 may use the side door
Ken: Does she need to bring anything else?
Ann: No, just those two things. She was going to bring a water bill, but that is not needed.
Ken: Tell her to go early. My father waited an hour last time at three.
全文中譯
安：我姐姐這個月第一次投票。她收到了這張卡。
縣市選舉 · 投票通知單
一月十三日星期六
8:00 至 16:00 · 陽光國小 3 教室
請攜帶本單與一份附照片的證件
七十歲以上選民可走側門
肯：她還需要帶別的東西嗎？
安：不用，就那兩樣。她本來要帶水費單，但那個不需要。
肯：叫她早點去。我爸上次三點去等了一小時。
Questions 19–21
19What must a voter bring?
AOnly the card
BThe card and a water bill
CA photo and a water bill
DThe card and a paper with a photo
✔ 正確答案：(D) The card and a paper with a photo
中譯選民必須帶什麼？
解析Bring this card and one paper with your photo；水費單安明說不需要。
20What does the card NOT tell us?
AWhere to vote
BThe hours for voting
CHow long people may have to wait
DThe day of the election
✔ 正確答案：(C) How long people may have to wait
中譯通知單上沒有告訴我們什麼？
解析等候時間是肯根據父親的經驗提到的，卡上沒有。
21Why does Ken tell Ann's sister to go early?
AThe side door opens first
BHis father waited an hour in the afternoon
CShe may forget the card
DThe room closes at noon
✔ 正確答案：(B) His father waited an hour in the afternoon
中譯肯為什麼叫安的姐姐早點去？
解析My father waited an hour last time at three，下午人多。
NOTICE
How to Ask the Town Office for Something
This notice explains how any citizen can ask for a change in our town. It follows the policy of the town government.
Write your idea in one page and leave it at the front desk
Twenty names from the same town must be on the page
The office must answer within one month, in writing
You do not need a lawyer, and there is no fee. If the answer is no, the office must give a reason. You may then ask once more, and a second officer will look at it.
Last year eleven ideas came in. Four were carried out: a light at the corner by the pool, a later bus on Sunday, a bench at the bus stop, a cool room at the God of War temple, and free water at the sports center. Ideas that were not taken up are kept on the wall by the door, with the reason beside each one.
解析Twenty names from the same town must be on the page。公告明說不需要律師也不用付費。
23What happens if the office says no?
ANothing more can be done
BThe idea is thrown away
CA judge decides the matter
DThe office must give a reason
✔ 正確答案：(D) The office must give a reason
中譯如果公所答覆否定會怎麼樣？
解析If the answer is no, the office must give a reason，而且可以再提一次。
24What is the purpose of keeping ideas on the wall?
ATo thank the people who wrote them
BTo fill an empty wall
CTo show people what was asked and why it was refused
DTo help the office choose next year
✔ 正確答案：(C) To show people what was asked and why it was refused
中譯把建議貼在牆上的目的是什麼？
解析Ideas that were not taken up are kept on the wall by the door, with the reason beside each one，是把提案與理由公開。
EMAIL
A Letter about a Bus Stop
Dear Sir,
I am writing about the bus stop outside the old barber shop on Center Road. The bench was taken away in March and has not come back.
I know a bench is a small thing. But four people over seventy wait there every morning, and two of them now stand for twenty minutes. One has stopped taking the bus and pays for a taxi twice a week, which is really too much for her.
I have 21 names on the page I left at your desk last Thursday. I am writing to ask whether it arrived, and when I may expect an answer. Your notice says one month; that month ends on the 11th.
BTo ask whether her page arrived and when an answer will come
CTo complain about a barber shop
DTo ask for money for a taxi
✔ 正確答案：(B) To ask whether her page arrived and when an answer will come
中譯這封信的目的是什麼？
解析I am writing to ask whether it arrived, and when I may expect an answer。
26Why does the writer talk about the taxi?
ATo ask the office to pay for it
BTo say taxis are faster
CTo explain why she is late
DTo show the cost of losing the bench
✔ 正確答案：(D) To show the cost of losing the bench
中譯作者為什麼提到計程車？
解析One has stopped taking the bus and pays for a taxi twice a week, which is really too much for her，說明沒有長椅造成的實際代價。
27How many names are on the page?
AFour
BEleven
CTwenty-one
DTwenty
✔ 正確答案：(C) Twenty-one
中譯那張紙上有幾個人的姓名？
解析I have 21 names on the page，比規定的二十個多一個。
ARTICLE
Rules We Cannot See
When people talk about law, they think of a court and a judge. Yet most rules that hold a country together are never used in a court at all.
We stand in line. We leave the seat by the door for somebody who may need it. We speak more quietly in a hospital than in a market. Nobody made us learn these, and no officer writes them down.
These quiet rules are strong, but they are easy to break and slow to build. A modern government can pass a law in a month; it cannot pass a habit. Even a president cannot. This is why a place where people wait their turn is worth more than it looks, and why a small act of respect is never only small.